By Dr. David Davis
The Angleton Wildcats didn’t need any help from the Friendswood Mustangs in a crucial District 10-5A I showdown, but they wouldn’t refuse the offer as the ‘Cats rolled to a 49-14 win.
Friendswood suffered self-inflicted damage with three lost fumbles and 12 penalties worth 96 yards as Angleton easily won the district.
From the opening kickoff, the Mustangs gave a preview of what was to come. The opening kickoff return miscue left Friendswood at its own 5-yard line to begin the contest. The hosts hit the scoreboard in just eight plays, with QB Brock Foster finding a wide-open WR Garrett Muecke streaking down the home sidelines for a 65-yard touchdown.
The 7-0 lead, though, didn’t last for long as Angleton ripped off 35 unanswered first-half points, highlighted by Kaden Jammer’s 55-yard interception return for a TD.
“It’s really disappointing because any time you play a game where you don’t feel like you played up to your potential or you feel like you did not put your best foot forward, that’s really difficult,” said Friendswood head coach Jordan Johnson, whose club dropped to 3-4 in district play, 4-5 overall.
“Regardless of the implications, it would be really painful to stomach what happened tonight,” Johnson added.
Angleton added two more scores in the second half to build a 49-7 advantage before the Mustangs scored the game’s final touchdown to post the final 49-14.
Mikey Butler, Friendswood’s backup QB, put up the final points of the contest on a 10-yard strike to Nate Wright with 16 seconds left.
“Every week, I’ve felt like we’ve got markedly better,” Johnson said. “This is really the first week in a long time that I felt like we took a step back.
“This is a great opportunity for me to teach what the off week looks like, regardless of where we are in the playoffs picture. Since you’re in the playoff hunt, it’s an invaluable week.”
The Mustangs need to reload to get ready to face Magnolia West in the season finale.
The loss dealt the Mustangs a serious setback to their post-season hopes, leaving them at 3-4 in District 10-5A-I with just one game remaining in a jumbled race for the last three playoff positions.
Coach Johnson’s club now has a late-season bye week to regroup before heading to Magnolia West on Friday, November 3. A few dominoes have to fall the right way to secure a playoff slot.
Elijah Simmons led the Wildcats (4-2, 5-3) with 148 yards on 21 carries, including scoring runs of 2, 23 and 2 yards. Quarterback Clinton Washington added a 14-yard touchdown run and a 30-yard scoring pass to Ruffeno Nicholas.
